Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity Review

With the Pokémon series nearly ready to celebrate its 18th birthday next year, some of its many spin-offs have become enduring gaming traditions in their own right. The Mystery Dungeon games are a prime example, combining classic roguelike dungeon crawling with the endless appeal of playing as Pokémon, and as the series' first entry on the 3DS, Gates to Infinity brings the formula into the third dimension for the first time. It's charming, addictive fun with a focus on accessibility that makes Gates to Infinity an excellent starting point for newcomers and younger players as well.

Our story begins with a dream about a Pokémon in danger. It's your dream — you being the everyday human playing the game — and when you wake up, you'll see a plucky, fresh-faced Pokémon taking your place in the mirror. Gone are the obfuscating personality quizzes from past installments — here you'll get to select both your character and your partner Pokémon outright. Unfortunately, there are also significantly fewer options this time around, with just five Pokémon to chose from: Pikachu, Snivy, Oshawott, Tepig, and Axew.

Once you've picked your 'mon and partner, you'll leap headfirst into the adventure ahead and — unusually for a dungeon-crawler — it's a journey that's propelled as much by story as it is by grinding for items and experience points. Gates to Infinity weaves together the twin threads of your chosen human-as-Pokémon's dark recurring dreams and your partner's quest to build a Pokémon Paradise, creating a light but compelling narrative that will appeal to children and open-minded adults alike. The storyline feels very much like an after-school special, in that it's innocent and funny but capable of hitting right in the gut — there are quite a few "very special episode of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon" moments — and there's a huge emphasis on "doing one's best".

Just as the story blends two distinct plot lines together, its gameplay is an appealing hybrid that sees you jumping back and forth between top-down dungeon-crawling and captivating town customization in Pokémon Paradise. That said you'll still spend most of your time in the dungeons as a four-Pokémon team, combing the gridded caves for items, battling and recruiting Pokémon, and working your way through floor after floor to find the exit.

Combat in Gates to Infinity is turn-based, quick, and seamless. There's no distinct battle screen, and skirmishes take place out in the open on the dungeon floors as soon as you engage an enemy — or enemies; every once in a while there are epic engagements between a dozen 'mon or more. Holding down the 'L' button brings up an overlay of your four moves, which are mapped to the face buttons. Since you're free to move around (one tile per turn), placement becomes important too, and this makes the combat a good deal more interesting: moves can affect one Pokémon or the whole room, hit from one, two, or several tiles away, or even cut around corners.

From time to time, a Pokémon you're battling will decide that it would rather be friends instead, and when presented with the option you can recruit them to your team. There are a few old favourites returning from previous regions — including Eevee, Marill, Swinub, Wooper, and their evolutions — but most of the 140-odd Pokémon in the game are fifth-generation Unova Pokémon. Whether that's good news or bad news will depend on your own Poké-preferences, but either way, the story helps add some personality to Pokémon you might not have expected to love. We're looking at you, Gurdurr!

Gates to Infinity's dungeons are randomly generated, so floor layouts are unique each time you head out spelunking, but they also fall victim to the classic trap of randomization in that they just don't feel very distinct. Sure, the stairs will be in a different place each time (sometimes right next to your spawn point!), and you won't ever know where a path is headed, but you'll quickly get used to the assets the game randomly arranges to build its world. Once you do, a feeling of déjà-vu sets in very quickly. Luckily, the labyrinth layouts get a boost from some cool sections that take place in outside, ungridded areas. These often feature extremely simple environmental puzzles of the 'push switch(es) to open pathway' variety, but they're also a great breather that helps to break up the dungeon crawl.

Aside from the main storyline quests, many of your expeditions to the dungeons will be made to fulfill requests left by various Pokémon on Paradise's noticeboard. These usually involve either rescuing a Pokémon who's gotten in over their head, bringing back a particular item, or finding and defeating a particularly strong 'mon. True to the spirit of the game, missions of this last type are invariably framed in a positive light, with titles like "Mamoswine is a good Pokémon, but…" and "Klang is at a difficult age…", and besting the rogue 'mon in battle always leads to them promising they'll be nicer in the future.

The dungeons are fun by themselves, but what really makes this game is the fantastic world that surrounds them. Interacting with Post Town's charming residents and shopkeepers is as enjoyable as it is useful, but even better is your Pokémon Paradise. From its humble beginnings as your partner's impulse-purchase parcel of desert land, the Paradise you build throughout the game blossoms into a one-of-a-kind team headquarters. By gathering materials from requests, you'll be able to prepare the land and build everything from shops selling rare items and fields for growing berries to dojos for powering up moves - and even discover a few mini-games. What you put in your Paradise is entirely up to you, and planning and developing your patch of land quickly becomes one of the most engrossing aspects of the game.

In Gates to Infinity's opening moments, the exploration and combat almost feel too simple, but deeper mechanics quickly begin to reveal themselves. These are doled out one-by-one, each with an excellent explanation, so first-timers should have no trouble getting the hang of everything. Moves can "level up" as you use them, gaining extra power and PP in the process, and these upgrades apply across all Pokémon with access to the technique. There are also Team Attacks, room-clearing assaults activated by tapping a touch-screen icon when your party is "in-sync", and Team Skills, passive abilities whose effects range from recovering PP as you switch floors to increasing your chances of landing critical hits.

Another new mechanic is the V-Wave, a daily bonus that gives a particular Pokémon type an extra advantage. It's a fun addition that you'll need to factor into your exploration plans, though if you're dead set on heading out on a day with an unfavourable V-Wave, you can always try your hand at Victini's V-Roulette — if you win, you can change the V-Wave to whatever you like.

There's plenty to keep track of, but there are several design choices that make it wholly accessible for newcomers. For the most part, you won't need to think about recovering after battles, since HP refills as you walk. The hunger mechanic from previous games is also (almost) entirely absent here, so the only thing that will stop you from exploring as far as you'd like is running out of PP - and even then, hitting the 'A' button without the moves overlay up will perform a weak physical attack with unlimited PP.

Trainers used to bringing weaker Pokémon into battle to level them up will be happy to know that those left back at base still gain experience points, so you won't need to worry about planning your team out in advance. You can also recruit new Pokémon even if your party is full, and choose which member to send back, so if you find a 'mon you like you can get started using them right away.

There are item deposit boxes and save points helpfully located before difficulty spikes in dungeons, and you can also do a quick suspend save at any time — a very welcome feature for a portable dungeon-crawler. And when you resume your game, a Layton-esque "Story So Far" screen helps get you back up to speed. The "run" command is also a beautiful example of a user-friendly feature done right: holding down 'B' propels your Pokémon party forward at lightning speed, but you'll automatically stop when you hit a fork in the road. It helps make retracing your steps less tedious, while ensuring you won't miss anything important as you dash around.

Speaking of speed, the familiar Poké-tradition of heading straight for the options menu to change the text speed to 'fast' before beginning a new adventure is not an option here. Gates to Infinity's text speed is slow — think Snorlax, not Sawsbuck — and for a title with so much unskippable dialogue, the molasses-drip speed at which it's presented is a real letdown. Holding down the 'B' button will auto-advance the conversation, but you'll still need to wait for each line of dialogue to spell itself into existence before moving on to the next. And since 'B' also exits out of menus, it's easy to get into dialogue loops with chatty shopkeepers when you're eager to speed through familiar conversations — echoes of the Pokécenter's famous 'mash-'A'-to-heal' loop. It's not that the dialogue isn't worth reading, it's just that it doesn't take that long to read, and not being able to speed it up is frustrating.

There's a similar issue with the Message Log, a transparent text ticker that pops up over the bottom fourth of the top screen with updates like "Pikachu used Thunderbolt" and "Snivy picked up the Oran Berry". The messages themselves are helpful, and it's nice that they're there, but they hang around for an inordinately long time before relinquishing their screen space.

Finally, your party members will sometimes take off after enemy Pokémon on their own, and aside from any AI silliness, the way the game handles these off-screen battles is awkward. There are two options: you can set the camera to switch back and forth to show each turn where it's happening, or you can keep the view on your own Pokémon and keep tabs on the off-screen battles with the Message Log. The latter is less immediately jarring, but it's still odd to have your own movement interrupted with colour commentary when a faraway teammate gets a quick jab in.

The Pokémon games have never exactly been known for their visual flair, but Gates to Infinity happily bucks that trend; this is perhaps the best looking Pokémon game yet. Its world is awash in colour, with vibrant backdrops and beautiful dungeon designs that beg to be called anything but "dungeons", and if these 3D Pokémon models represent the future visual direction of the series, we'll be very happy. Their animations are particularly adorable — Pikachu's brisk, confident walk is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face — and fun portraits add plenty of feeling to the characters' dialogue delivery. The soundtrack is similarly expressive, providing plenty of catchy tunes and moving melodies to match the story's emotional roller coaster, and its rousing dungeon themes will make you feel like a true Pokémon adventurer.

Beyond its charming presentation, the game is chock full of endearing little touches; one of our favourites is the fact that the 'bash/examine' button turns into a 'wave hello/gesture and dance' button when you're facing a teammate instead of an enemy. It's such a small detail, but it's indicative of the heart poured into the game. The writing also gives Gates to Infinity a huge infusion of charm; while the story's definitely aimed at kids, players of all ages will appreciate the fact that each individual Pokémon has a well-drawn personality. From unassuming Quagsire's hidden power and Victini's over-the-top animé-inspired poses to Herdier's Robbie Burns-esque idiom, these really are memorable characters.

While there's plenty of content in the main game, this experience really earns its subtitle via an AR-enhanced feature that lets you discover new dungeons via "Magnagates" in the real world. It uses the 3DS's front cameras to create a unique labyrinth out of any circular object you can find. Once you've scanned your CD, pizza, or frisbee, you'll head down the rabbit hole with a team randomly selected from the game's starter Pokémon and their evolutions. It might sound like a gimmick, but Magnagate exploration is actually a really fun feature — it's a great way to jump in for some quick dungeon-crawling, and all the money and items you pick up along the way will transfer to your deposit box in the main game.

If the prospect of unlimited Magnagates somehow doesn't seem like enough content, Gates to Infinity also offers paid DLC dungeons. Like Fire Emblem: Awakening, each pack tends to focus on a particular feature that will help you in your main quest: one dungeon provides plenty of easy cash, while others hide rare items, or let you recruit certain types of Pokémon, including starters like Pikachu, Snivy, and Oshawott. As a nice added bonus, each download comes with two pieces of classic Pokémon background music.

Rounding out the package is a local multiplayer mode for up to four players, though each trainer will need their own copy of the game. The multiplayer focuses exclusively on Challenge missions, where players can team up to fight their way through more difficult dungeons than those found in the main game. If multiplayer is a big draw for you, it's worth noting that it's not unlocked from the start — we had to play for close to eight hours before we were able to access it. There's also a StreetPass feature that allows you to 'rescue' players you pass if they've been knocked out, or be revived if you've fainted yourself. It's a cool concept, but you'll either need to live in Goldenrod City or have a friend or family member with a copy of the game to get much practical use out of it.

Conclusion

If miles of unskippable dialogue and a Saturday morning cartoon storyline are barriers to enjoyment, Gates to Infinity is perhaps not for you. For players open to some innocent, longwinded storytelling with their dungeon crawl, however, this is the complete Poké-package. Gates to Infinity is a fun, charming roguelike with beautiful presentation, accessible mechanics, and the warm, fuzzy feeling that can only come from playing as Pokémon. And with a never-ending supply of Magnagate dungeons, there's more than enough here to tide Pokémaniacs over until October's generational leap.

I'm gonna be real honest... This is the best game and best RPG I've played in my entire life. The story has so many twists and turns and has so many sad and even violent moments I loved it all. The music is the best I heard in a game since Ys I and II PCE, And the simple gameplay helps make it a perfect game. I gave it a 10 out of 10 on gonintendo for those reasons.

BTW, if you wanna know the length from someone who does everything possible in the main story, it took me 24 hours to get through. This game is definately 10000X better than Xenoblade (Which without arts all you really did was hit a button and drop your classic controller... And even with arts it was too easy for me), and also better than the Last Story as well (Though that's a good alternate)

PS, Unskipable text isn't bad in this game, as the story is amazing, even when replaying!

@CanisWolfred I read many books recently. The Lovely Bones, Harry potter I-VI, ETC. I read a lot of books during the weekdays, so I know how to judge plot.

@Aucool It's my opinion, I love this game, I've played a ton of other amazing games in my life, (Zelda Majora's mask, Fire emblem sacred stones, Ys I and II) and this happens to take the cake for me, what's wrong with that?

@dreaminghawk, i agree with that review. I find the stories always amazing in this and i think it should be more judged on the story, music, and design. It should not be compared to the main game's like most reviews do. In fact i like this series better then the main games and i always give them a 10 in my mind. Sure the lack of pokemon is bad but it made the game get made quicker plus we get a dragon starter. That is my opinion on this though.

@VALERHU Yes. The last story is my favorite console RPG, but not my favorite game. Xenoblade on the other hand was a boring and MASSIVE disappointment for me considering how I waited so long for a NA release and even longer to get it for christmas

I did not like this one very much....The graphics were beautiful, but the story was weak and there are very little variety in pokemon . Nothing in comparison to rescue teams/explorers and time/darkness/sky

@Hoerig I don't agree that the storyline was bland. I cried at the end. So I personally think the storyline was great. Although I do agree its not as good as the others for other reasons, one you stated, and I believe the after story should've been much longer.

Great review, sounds like the Pokemon-dungeon serie evolved better than expected (sorry for the pun XP).

I played only a title of this sub-serie and I found it very funny, but not that much to make me wish for more.Guess that I will pass this time, so many games around, personally I'm getting crazy dealing with just Code of Princess and Luigi mansion same time, really no need an extra "dilemma" XD

Never played a pmd game before however I liked the demo so I picked this one up over the weekend and I cannot put it down. It is nice to be able to play a game and not have a line a cuss words and bullets flying. Perhaps my taste as I get older are changing. I am 25+ years old and loving this game. Glad to finally see the review posted on NL.

I played the demo and it was too long-winded. The dialogue was a novel of gibberish and you can only read two or three lines of text at a time, so expect to be reading for awhile. And there was no free-roam, the grid-system serves no purpose. I don't know why Nintendo refuses to release a proper Pokemon avatar game with an open-world free-roam adventure game. It seems like Nintendo doesn't want the Pokemon filler-games to compete with the main series, so they release a bunch of fluff. Overall, I think this game was scored way too high! The highest I would go would be a 6/10 and that's being optimistic.

@gundam00 "no real purpose to grid" actually, since this game is a rogue like, it is purpose full. I'm not even sure how you could play the game without it. It's turn based, and the best way to do a turn based game is through grides. It's like expecting a fire emblem game to not have a grid. You ok? Are you high? Also, how in the hell can you judge a game based on a demo? You barely touched the surface of the game. It's just not intelligent. I played the game all the way through, and I can say that it's deserving of this score: no less no higher.

Story-wise, nothing will ever come close to Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. Holy crap I cried

Otherwise, besides lacking in Pokemon variety, this game is pretty awesome! Shame the after game isn't as long-winded as Rescue Team (okay, no. Rescue team had a cheap-a** meta-game. It was long alright, riddled with 99 floor dungeons you had to do multiple times... >:[ )

I have to admit, the ending of PMD: Explorers of Darkness made me cry like a baby, heh. I still cherish the hours spent.For this one, I didn't even need to try the demo, I've had this on pre-order from day one. In fact, a PMD for the 3DS was a dream come true!My only grievances are the lack of the personality quiz and the small selection of starter Pokémon... I wanted to be a Totodile again

I think to be fair most people just looked up a FAQ to get the Pokemon they wanted.

Although they did questionably remove a few features like gender, text speed control, and online rescue, and the Pokemon selection is slim, the overall gameplay is heavily improved. Also, the 3D is damn impressive.

@DarkKirby I actually went along with what I was given due to my honest answers and so did friends of mine. I only 'cheated' at it on my other versions when I wanted to try something else(even though your pokemon could still vary depending on which questions you got).

@DarkKirby Like @Chriiis , I played through the two original games with what Pokemon was given to me (MY FAVOURITE STARTER OF ALL TIME CHARMANDER) although I suppose if I had gotten a Pokemon that I dislike, I would have cheated.

And, @CanisWolfred , just because a plot might feel like it's similar to a Saturday morning cartoon doesn't mean that the plot is bad. I mean, it's no masterpiece, but the plot of this game isn't bad either. Sure, I've grown quite annoyed with hearing "Let's give it our all!" and usually 'bad' Pokemon have a predictable change of heart, but that is to be expected, as it IS a Pokemon game. I mean, you don't want Pokemon dealing with issues like suicide or alchoholism, do you? It's a family friendly game, and the story really wasn't half bad. It was well written, and the characters all have a lot of personality. Disliking a story simply because it's too light or family friendly is a narrow view - you have to take everything into account. I guess the reason I'm saying all of this is because my teacher last semester used to give me low 80's on all of my creative writing work simply because what I wrote was "too Disney". I was used to getting perfect on all poetry and short stories (ESPECIALLY short stories), so I was decidedly distraught. When I finally asked him what was "too Disney", he said I should avoid happy endings and insert more mature themes into my work. One night, I went home, and wrote the most mature story I could possibly write. I threw in everything I could think of - drugs, prostitution, abortion, death, and much more. I even had a character who was a sex offender. I handed it in and got a hundred percent. When I got it back, however, I didn't feel proud of myself. You see, I wrote it out of frustration, not enthusiasm. The characters were weak, the themes almost non-existant, and it was riddled with more swearing than one would care to hear in a lifetime. It was crap. Terrible garbage. I wouldn't have wiped my behind with the writing on those pages. But I still got a perfect mark. I guess it was an experiment. I KNEW it was bad when I handed it in. My teacher wasn't looking for a GOOD story, just one with a negative ending... what he considers a MATURE story. But really, my stories that my teacher considered 'Disney' because they had a good ending and didn't deal with anything too, er, vulgar, had far more character development and far better exploration of themes than my 'mature' story, so really, the more 'mature' stories were the ones he considered 'Disney'.My point is, don't judge a story by it's subject matter. You can't write off a game because it's story is light. I'm sorry for writing this block of text, but I just had to interject my opinion.

P.S. If you're curious to what books I'VE been reading recently, John Irving's Cider House Rules, Jumper by Steven Gould, Bag of Bones and the Mist by Stephen King, and I reread Tolkien's fantastic Lord of the Rings saga.

I think I will be picking this game soon when it lands on the EU eshop.
I respect that we have different opinions for RPG's since for me Xenoblade just blew my mind, The way the gameplay blends in with the sound track is pure genius, Great story line and characters too. I loved The Laststory too.

@Captain_BalkoTechnically, PMD: Explorers of sky dealt with suicide inconspicuously :3It was towards the very end of the second plot with Darkrai~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~As for Gates to Infinity, it was fine. While I miss the old characters, it does have some good characters. I liked the 3D, though I didn't feel the need to have my moves "powered up" or have a "comined attacked" I felt like it was a weird mix of Mystery Dungeon and Rumble...Also not loving the overload of Generation 5 Pokemon.

@gundam00 "no real purpose to grid" actually, since this game is a rogue like, it is purpose full. I'm not even sure how you could play the game without it. It's turn based, and the best way to do a turn based game is through grides. It's like expecting a fire emblem game to not have a grid. You ok? Are you high? Also, how in the hell can you judge a game based on a demo? You barely touched the surface of the game. It's just not intelligent. I played the game all the way through, and I can say that it's deserving of this score: no less no higher.

Along with releasing a turn-based Pokemon game, I would like to see Nintendo release an open-world Pokemon adventure game, where the Pokemon aren't caged to a grid but are free to roam. Nintendo releases free-roam Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and StarFox games, I wish they would do the same with Pokemon.

The purpose of a Demo is to generate sales based on the player's judgement of the Demo. If the Demo does not generate a sale, then the Demo failed its purpose. This Demo in particular SAVES your progression and transfers it to the purchased game, so the Demo is part of the actual game. If disliking a game based on its Demo is unintelligent, then so is liking a game based on its Demo.

I am happy that you and others have enjoyed the game, but you shouldn't respond immaturely to someone who disagrees with your opinion, you're more intelligent than that.

there's so much they did right in this game that it outweighs what they did wrong (the streamlining of money and items, as well as being able to use deposited items without having to withdraw them for swap shops and the like; outweighs the taking on only one job at a time, inability to fast-display text and have to sit through ALL text, and missing all my favorite pokemon except the eeveelutions)

Call me silly as much as you want, but the overload of Gen V Pokémon and lack of older ones is still a major downer for me and holds me back from looking forward. I'm still getting it, but only because it's close enough to my birthday to splurge on it.

For people that are skeptic about whither or not to get this game...it's actually pretty good. I was like you people, I thought this game was going to be terrible. When I first saw the trailer and saw it was 3D not 2D I was like..."umm what? Why?!" But I decided to give it a shot and...it's actually very good...I was surprised xD If your a fan of the pokemon mystery dungeon games than you'll probably like this one, the only problems that I have with the game is the TON of dialog, and that you don't take a quiz anymore/choose your gender (though I always choose male anyway but still). Buuut those are not game breakers.(And just to answer someones question) I chose pikachu as the hero and Axew as the partner.

I have to say, I was rather looking forward to this game when it was first being talked about. However, while there are some things that this game does better than its predecessors, there are a greater number of things that make it a worse game than the Explorers series.

First the Pros:~No more quizes to determine who you play as. Now you can just pick who you want out of the starters.~Beautiful Graphics~Good storyline~The ability to improve on your attacks in power, accuracy and PP based on usage and training~TMs are reusable~You can build your Paradise~The ability to 'pause' the main story and play as a team made up of Pokemon that are not on your main team~All members of your Team (not just the four that make up your party) level up so that no Pokemon is left weak

And now for the cons:~Only 144 Pokemon that can join your Team, and the vast bulk of those are Gen V~Only 5 Choosable Pokemon to pick as yourself and your partner~All starting Pokemon (You and your partner) are all male. You are unable to choose your own gender or that or your partner~Boss AI is not all that bright (though for some that could be a good thing)~Not much after story following the main storyline~Main storyline is rather short (Beat it in less than 40 hours)~You have to pay for new dungeons via DLC, about $2 per new dungeon~So far, there seems to be a vast lack of evolution items. Also, while your other party members are able to evolve, you and your partner cannot until after the main story, and no logical reason or explanation is given.

All in all, if you're looking for a quality PMD game, I highly recommend PMD: Explorers of Sky. This game is fun, don't get me wrong, but for long-time fans of the series, this latest game is a letdown. However, those who have never played a PMD game will find this enjoyable and a good way to get into the series.

Yah im a hardcore PMD fan but yes this game is way to easy there is no good story honestly i mean i completed like half the game in a day almost and your teams AI are so dumb. im in a Staggered I formation with two pokemon and and i wanted the the enemy pokemon to come to me and when i step back my partner steps in the spot i just was and now were in an I formation me being 2 turns away from attack. THEN THEN when a party member attacks an enemy pokemon and breaks formation in a Tunnel it starts wandering around the floor even with the tactic set to Follow me.

Uggghhh this game just overall is frustrating to play if ur a hardcore fan like i was. I would have rather have an updated Sky's graphics and play that game again. like seriously and i was gonna have my partners Mudkip and Snivy now i cant have that . I just wish chunsoft didn't throw this games story together.

The more that I think about it, the more I realize that I loved this game. It still had the emotional ending I look foward to in every game and still had a good plot and character development. Somewhat. The only thing that REALLY irritated me was the lack of genders. I'm a girl who doesn't enjoy playing as a boy too much.Though they never really said the gender of me. I was only called by name and never "he or she".

@Tertis
Good graphics does not always equate to a good game. The overall quality of Explorers of Sky was vastly greater compared to Gates to Infinity. I'd rather have lower quality graphics than a lower quality overall gaming experience that has prettier graphics and music. I would rather buy a visually upgraded version of Sky than Gates to Infinity. Gates is still enjoyable, but it lacks in many areas.

I will say the dialog can be annoying because it's so slow,but other than that,I LOVE this game..when I bought a 3DS,I was hoping for a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game..I got my wish I enjoyed the series on DS,and I'm enjoying this one too..it's helping me get over my disappointment of the new Castlevainia game

I played the demo and I did not like because of the clunky controls, the repetitive sound for dialogue and because you have to press A after every sentence. The story is nice but I expected Pikachu and his friend to build their own paradise instead of searching a carpenter.